Outlook India: The End Of Warfare
Against the most heavily armed opponent in the history of War, Fallujah has still not let itself be "taken" to date. The mightiest military machine in history has met its match. A turning point in military affairs? The end of warfare, as practiced by the Americans - the application of overwhelming force to obtain a victory?
Fallujah has not been taken. Not only has Fallujah not been taken, but the coalition forces have staged several retreats and are now confined largely to the outside of the city. The Iraqi resistance is currently in control of most of the city and have forced back at least three of the largest armored assaults in recent history.
Raw unopposed firepower has reached its limits. Never have so few battled against so many in face of overwhelming odds and brought a superpower to its knees. And the nightmare continues. It is indeed the greatest military victory in history. The self proclaimed mightiest empire that ever was, in fact, turns out to have had the shortest reign ever. This Empire met its match in the land between the two rivers.
"CHECK IT"
Friday, December 24, 2004
Thursday, December 23, 2004
USA: SPY SCANDAL
UPI: Outside View: Israeli hubris vs. the U.S.
The latest spy tale in Washington, D.C., involving Larry Franklin, an intelligence analyst at the Defense Department, and some of Israel's most important lobbyists in America, is becoming deeper by the week. Spy stories are always like that, but this one packs an intricate tale of a trusted ally betraying America, a White House intent on using the misstep to leverage its influence, and an American intelligence community that feels it has been made to wear horns. Clearly Israel has aroused the formidable bull and will be made to pay a price. One can speculate from what we already know.
Immediately after his re-election, Bush said he had "accumulated enough capital" in his first term that he plans to use it in his second term to advance the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Among other things, he may indeed have been hinting, friends in the intelligence community tell me, at the "Franklin" affair.Bush does not need to have an outcome to this investigation. He just needs to have a process whereby accusations keep hanging in the air, while he demands to cash in his capital. Bush is like that. He plays hard, even with friends. Even with Israel.
The latest spy tale in Washington, D.C., involving Larry Franklin, an intelligence analyst at the Defense Department, and some of Israel's most important lobbyists in America, is becoming deeper by the week. Spy stories are always like that, but this one packs an intricate tale of a trusted ally betraying America, a White House intent on using the misstep to leverage its influence, and an American intelligence community that feels it has been made to wear horns. Clearly Israel has aroused the formidable bull and will be made to pay a price. One can speculate from what we already know.
Immediately after his re-election, Bush said he had "accumulated enough capital" in his first term that he plans to use it in his second term to advance the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Among other things, he may indeed have been hinting, friends in the intelligence community tell me, at the "Franklin" affair.Bush does not need to have an outcome to this investigation. He just needs to have a process whereby accusations keep hanging in the air, while he demands to cash in his capital. Bush is like that. He plays hard, even with friends. Even with Israel.
IRAQ: MOSUL RESISTANCE
ABC: Mosul Base Commanders Had Warning of an Attack
Dec. 22, 2004 -- Three weeks before the deadly attack on a U.S. base in Mosul, commanders at the base had a warning that insurgents were planning a "Beirut"-type attack on U.S. forces in northern Iraq, ABC News has learned. The warning prompted them to take additional unspecified security measures on the base.
On Tuesday, 22 people — including 13 U.S. soldiers — were killed in an attack on the crowded mess tent at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul. The Pentagon said today the deadly attack was apparently the work of a suicide bomber.
Dec. 22, 2004 -- Three weeks before the deadly attack on a U.S. base in Mosul, commanders at the base had a warning that insurgents were planning a "Beirut"-type attack on U.S. forces in northern Iraq, ABC News has learned. The warning prompted them to take additional unspecified security measures on the base.
On Tuesday, 22 people — including 13 U.S. soldiers — were killed in an attack on the crowded mess tent at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul. The Pentagon said today the deadly attack was apparently the work of a suicide bomber.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Reuters: Attack on U.S. Base in Iraq Kills 22
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A mortar and rocket attack on a U.S. military dining hall killed 22 people and wounded more than 50 in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Tuesday in one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. forces since the war began.
The attack came as British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to Baghdad, where he vowed the war against insurgents would be won and elections would go ahead on Jan. 30. As he left Baghdad, mortars fell on the Green Zone compound, as they do almost daily. There was no word on any casualties
"The US Military does not control Mosul neither do they control Fallujah after more than a month of fierce battle. The Resistance grows deadlier each day. Bush and Blair are still pretending that everything is better now. Iraq as it turns out really is the disaster every sane mind has predicted"
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A mortar and rocket attack on a U.S. military dining hall killed 22 people and wounded more than 50 in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Tuesday in one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. forces since the war began.
The attack came as British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to Baghdad, where he vowed the war against insurgents would be won and elections would go ahead on Jan. 30. As he left Baghdad, mortars fell on the Green Zone compound, as they do almost daily. There was no word on any casualties
"The US Military does not control Mosul neither do they control Fallujah after more than a month of fierce battle. The Resistance grows deadlier each day. Bush and Blair are still pretending that everything is better now. Iraq as it turns out really is the disaster every sane mind has predicted"
USA: COUP EXPORT
Mother Jones: The Coup Connection
How an organization financed by the US government has been promoting the overthrow of elected leaders abroad
In early 2004, chaos overwhelmed Haiti. In January, a rebellion erupted against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former slum priest who had frequently angered the United States with his leftist rhetoric. Aristide had twice been elected, but he had alienated many Haitians with his increasing demagoguery and use of violence against the opposition. Yet polls showed that Aristide remained relatively popular, so even experienced Haiti watchers were surprised when, in late February, armed militias marched on the nation’s capital while demonstrators shut down the streets. In the violence, some 100 Haitians were killed. At dawn on February 29, with the militias closing in, Aristide left Haiti on a U.S. government plane. ¨
But did the rebellion really spring from nowhere? Maybe not. Several leaders of the demonstrations -- some of whom also had links to the armed rebels -- had been getting organizational help and training from a U.S. government-financed organization. The group, the International Republican Institute (IRI), is supposed to focus on nonpartisan, grassroots democratization efforts overseas. But in Haiti and other countries, such as Venezuela and Cambodia, the institute -- which, though not formally affiliated with the GOP, is run by prominent Republicans and staffed by party insiders -- has increasingly sided with groups seeking the overthrow of elected but flawed leaders who are disliked in Washington.
"Haiti, Venzuela, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania....more to come"
How an organization financed by the US government has been promoting the overthrow of elected leaders abroad
In early 2004, chaos overwhelmed Haiti. In January, a rebellion erupted against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former slum priest who had frequently angered the United States with his leftist rhetoric. Aristide had twice been elected, but he had alienated many Haitians with his increasing demagoguery and use of violence against the opposition. Yet polls showed that Aristide remained relatively popular, so even experienced Haiti watchers were surprised when, in late February, armed militias marched on the nation’s capital while demonstrators shut down the streets. In the violence, some 100 Haitians were killed. At dawn on February 29, with the militias closing in, Aristide left Haiti on a U.S. government plane. ¨
But did the rebellion really spring from nowhere? Maybe not. Several leaders of the demonstrations -- some of whom also had links to the armed rebels -- had been getting organizational help and training from a U.S. government-financed organization. The group, the International Republican Institute (IRI), is supposed to focus on nonpartisan, grassroots democratization efforts overseas. But in Haiti and other countries, such as Venezuela and Cambodia, the institute -- which, though not formally affiliated with the GOP, is run by prominent Republicans and staffed by party insiders -- has increasingly sided with groups seeking the overthrow of elected but flawed leaders who are disliked in Washington.
"Haiti, Venzuela, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania....more to come"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Uri Avnery: The mountain and the mouse
Sharon's "vision" for Israel and the Palestinians exposed
Uri Avnery deconstructs Sharon's recent speech to Israeli financial, political and academic leaders in which he painted a rosy picture of Israel's prospects. But "the most important part of the speech was the part that was not there. There was no peace offer to the Palestinians. He did not talk about peace at all."
CHECK IT
Sharon's "vision" for Israel and the Palestinians exposed
Uri Avnery deconstructs Sharon's recent speech to Israeli financial, political and academic leaders in which he painted a rosy picture of Israel's prospects. But "the most important part of the speech was the part that was not there. There was no peace offer to the Palestinians. He did not talk about peace at all."
CHECK IT
OSAMA BIN LADEN
Time: Bin Laden's New Message
In his latest audiotape pronouncement to the world, released Dec. 16 on an extremist Islamic website, Osama bin Laden largely shifted his attention from the U.S. to the Saudi royal family. He called its members "agents of infidels," praised the Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jidda and urged Muslims to support the insurgency in Iraq. According to one leading expert, the new tape was part of a change in emphasis in recent communications by the al-Qaeda leader and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri — an effort to speak as much to the Muslim world as to the U.S. and a paving of the theological way for what may be another major attack on the U.S.
In his latest audiotape pronouncement to the world, released Dec. 16 on an extremist Islamic website, Osama bin Laden largely shifted his attention from the U.S. to the Saudi royal family. He called its members "agents of infidels," praised the Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jidda and urged Muslims to support the insurgency in Iraq. According to one leading expert, the new tape was part of a change in emphasis in recent communications by the al-Qaeda leader and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri — an effort to speak as much to the Muslim world as to the U.S. and a paving of the theological way for what may be another major attack on the U.S.
IRAQ: ELECTIONS OF FEAR
Independent: A poll governed by fear by Patrick Cockburn
The 30 January election will go ahead, even though violence is unabated and the campaign may worsen divisions
The Iraqi election on 30 January, for which campaigning began last week, will be one of the most secretive in history. Iraqi television shows only the feet of election officials rather than their faces, because they are terrified of their identity being revealed. It will be a poll governed by fear.
The 30 January election will go ahead, even though violence is unabated and the campaign may worsen divisions
The Iraqi election on 30 January, for which campaigning began last week, will be one of the most secretive in history. Iraqi television shows only the feet of election officials rather than their faces, because they are terrified of their identity being revealed. It will be a poll governed by fear.
IRAQ
Independent: The Army had not a word of compassion by Robert Fisk
It was the insouciance, the absolute indifference of the British military press office in Basra that shocked me.Here I had documents--one of them signed by a British officer--stating that Baha Mousa had died in British custody, another that Mousa's colleague had been "assaulted" when he too was a prisoner and suffered "acute renal failure", the statement of his father that the British army waited three days before admitting to the family that he was dead--and the British spokesman said he couldn't help.
Baha Mousa had been brutally beaten while hooded and tied up--none of the other prisoners suffering with him were ever charged with any crime--by soldiers who gave them the names of footballers. His father was a police colonel and had seen his son before his arrest at a local hotel. He even acquired a note from the arresting officer that Baha would be looked after. His name--typically--was meaningless: it was signed "Second Lieutenant Mike".
It was the insouciance, the absolute indifference of the British military press office in Basra that shocked me.Here I had documents--one of them signed by a British officer--stating that Baha Mousa had died in British custody, another that Mousa's colleague had been "assaulted" when he too was a prisoner and suffered "acute renal failure", the statement of his father that the British army waited three days before admitting to the family that he was dead--and the British spokesman said he couldn't help.
Baha Mousa had been brutally beaten while hooded and tied up--none of the other prisoners suffering with him were ever charged with any crime--by soldiers who gave them the names of footballers. His father was a police colonel and had seen his son before his arrest at a local hotel. He even acquired a note from the arresting officer that Baha would be looked after. His name--typically--was meaningless: it was signed "Second Lieutenant Mike".
CLIMATE CHANGE
Indpendent: Mysterious Arctic Light Blamed On Climate Change
Santa and his reindeer will be able to see their way better than ever on Christmas Eve, for a mysterious light is beginning to brighten the dark polar winter.
Eskimos and scientists report a strange "lightness at noon" that is turning the usual all-day darkness of the high Canadian Arctic into twilight, apparently in defiance of natural laws. Canadian government officials say it may be the result of an unusual atmospheric phenomenon caused by global warming.
Inuit hunters are telling the government's weather station at Resolute Bay - Canada's second most northerly village, 1,000 miles from the North Pole - of a new light in the sky.
And Wayne Davidson, the Canadian government official who runs the station, says he believes it it caused by climate change.
Santa and his reindeer will be able to see their way better than ever on Christmas Eve, for a mysterious light is beginning to brighten the dark polar winter.
Eskimos and scientists report a strange "lightness at noon" that is turning the usual all-day darkness of the high Canadian Arctic into twilight, apparently in defiance of natural laws. Canadian government officials say it may be the result of an unusual atmospheric phenomenon caused by global warming.
Inuit hunters are telling the government's weather station at Resolute Bay - Canada's second most northerly village, 1,000 miles from the North Pole - of a new light in the sky.
And Wayne Davidson, the Canadian government official who runs the station, says he believes it it caused by climate change.
Monday, December 20, 2004
IRAQ: MOSUL RESISTANCE
Independent: American forces lose control of key city
Gunmen raked a car with machine-gun fire in the northern city of Mosul yesterday, killing three foreigners and their driver. They then cut off the head of one of their victims.
The killings show that at the same time as the US was recapturing Fallujah in a heavily publicised assault it largely lost control of Mosul, Iraq's northern capital. Though US troops launched a counter-attack, their grip on the city remains tenuous. The four men who died yesterday were travelling in a white sedan when it was attacked with automatic weapons and set on fire at a traffic intersection in Mosul.
One of the foreigners was briefly captured by the insurgents, according to an eyewitness. When he tried to escape they cut his head off and left his body in a pool of blood.
Gunmen raked a car with machine-gun fire in the northern city of Mosul yesterday, killing three foreigners and their driver. They then cut off the head of one of their victims.
The killings show that at the same time as the US was recapturing Fallujah in a heavily publicised assault it largely lost control of Mosul, Iraq's northern capital. Though US troops launched a counter-attack, their grip on the city remains tenuous. The four men who died yesterday were travelling in a white sedan when it was attacked with automatic weapons and set on fire at a traffic intersection in Mosul.
One of the foreigners was briefly captured by the insurgents, according to an eyewitness. When he tried to escape they cut his head off and left his body in a pool of blood.
USA
AP: Almost Half of Americans Favor Restrictions on Muslims' Rights
Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim-Americans, according to a nationwide poll.The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims’ civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.'Disturbing news'Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim-Americans.
Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim-Americans, according to a nationwide poll.The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims’ civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.'Disturbing news'Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim-Americans.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH
GE NEWS: An Honest US Marine Confirms Fallujah Disaster
AFP: 6 More Marines Die In Fallujah - Virtual News Blackout
West and Wilson insisted however that fighting that broke out Friday in Fallujah, which left six marines dead, was not an example failure.
"We are not talking of a setback, but just about insurgents hiding in houses for a chance to kill a soldier," Wilson said.
JUS: Major US Defeat In Fallujah Claimed
A massive US ground offensive on Fallujah yesterday has ended in humiliating defeat for the Americans. While dust storms disabled US airpower, matters were further complicated when Allawi troops fled the battleground after 15 minutes of fighting and Mujahideen launched devastating attacks under the cover of poor visibility.
Aljazeera: US warplanes strike Falluja
According to independent Iraqi journalist Fadhil al-Badrani, US warplanes targeted Falluja's eastern and southern districts.
He said fierce clashes had broken out in the city centre between US forces who have been in the city since 8 November and Iraqi fighters who had infiltrated back in across the Euphrates river.
"There is no way to determine the number of casualties as US authorities have barred journalists and aid workers from entering Falluja," al-Badrani told Aljazeera.
AFP: 6 More Marines Die In Fallujah - Virtual News Blackout
West and Wilson insisted however that fighting that broke out Friday in Fallujah, which left six marines dead, was not an example failure.
"We are not talking of a setback, but just about insurgents hiding in houses for a chance to kill a soldier," Wilson said.
JUS: Major US Defeat In Fallujah Claimed
A massive US ground offensive on Fallujah yesterday has ended in humiliating defeat for the Americans. While dust storms disabled US airpower, matters were further complicated when Allawi troops fled the battleground after 15 minutes of fighting and Mujahideen launched devastating attacks under the cover of poor visibility.
Aljazeera: US warplanes strike Falluja
According to independent Iraqi journalist Fadhil al-Badrani, US warplanes targeted Falluja's eastern and southern districts.
He said fierce clashes had broken out in the city centre between US forces who have been in the city since 8 November and Iraqi fighters who had infiltrated back in across the Euphrates river.
"There is no way to determine the number of casualties as US authorities have barred journalists and aid workers from entering Falluja," al-Badrani told Aljazeera.
USA: POWELL
Telegraph: Powell 'Pushed Out' By Bush For Seeking To Rein In Israel
Colin Powell, the outgoing US secretary of state, was given his marching orders after telling President George W Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process.
Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.
According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr Powell was not asked to stay on and gave no hints that he would do so. Briefing reporters later, he referred to "fulsome discussions" - diplomatic code for disagreements.
"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently-retired state department official.
"Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."
Colin Powell, the outgoing US secretary of state, was given his marching orders after telling President George W Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process.
Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.
According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr Powell was not asked to stay on and gave no hints that he would do so. Briefing reporters later, he referred to "fulsome discussions" - diplomatic code for disagreements.
"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently-retired state department official.
"Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."
IRAQ: FALLUJAH
AFP: US Marines 'Traumatised' By Fallujah Assault
Nearly six weeks after US marines stormed the rebel enclave of Fallujah, military psychologists are still seeing a steady stream of service personnel traumatised by the long days and nights of ferocious street fighting.
In the macho culture of the US Marine Corps, it is sometimes hard for its personnel, male or female, to admit they have a problem and some try to ride out the symptoms, only seeking help after weeks of suffering in silence.
The US-backed government put rebel losses at more than 2,000, although unit commanders later revealed their troops had orders to shoot all males of fighting age seen on the streets, armed or unarmed, and ruined homes across the city attest to a strategy of overwhelming force.
Shooting all males of fighting age means shooting all males between 15 and 64 years old.
This is a war crime under international law.
Nearly six weeks after US marines stormed the rebel enclave of Fallujah, military psychologists are still seeing a steady stream of service personnel traumatised by the long days and nights of ferocious street fighting.
In the macho culture of the US Marine Corps, it is sometimes hard for its personnel, male or female, to admit they have a problem and some try to ride out the symptoms, only seeking help after weeks of suffering in silence.
The US-backed government put rebel losses at more than 2,000, although unit commanders later revealed their troops had orders to shoot all males of fighting age seen on the streets, armed or unarmed, and ruined homes across the city attest to a strategy of overwhelming force.
Shooting all males of fighting age means shooting all males between 15 and 64 years old.
This is a war crime under international law.
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